Breast crease comforter

ABSTRACT

A breast crease comforter decreases pain and promotes healing during and after radiation therapy to the breast. The skin crease between the breast and the torso is typically exposed to daily friction, sheer, and moisture. When the breast is also compromised by radiation therapy, these various insults may combine to cause skin breakdown and excoriation, including resultant pain. The breast crease comforter intervenes between the underside of the breast and the torso to protect and pad this sensitive crease area when compromised by radiation therapy. The breast crease comforter may also be used to treat other conditions besides vulnerable skin resulting from radiation therapy to the breast or torso. The breast crease comforter may also be combined with the bottom of a conventional bra.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to co-pending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/973,870 to LaVigne, filed Dec. 20, 2010and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject matter presented herein relates generally to medicalaccessories and more specifically to a breast crease comforter.

BACKGROUND

Radiation therapy for breast cancer and other conditions often leavesthe breast tissue temporarily sensitive and the skin of the breastsusceptible to physical friction. There may be no immediate side effectsfrom individual radiation treatments given to the breast, but somepatients may develop fleeting aches and pains in the breast. Patientsusually develop a slight fatigue and some skin vulnerability thataccumulates over the course of therapy. The most common side effect isthe skin's reaction to radiation and to the chemotherapy that sometimesaccompanies the radiation therapy. Most patients develop tenderness,dryness, reddening, and pruritis, or itching of the skin, after a fewweeks. In other words, the radiation therapy may temporarily compromisethe skin on the breast as well as the inner breast tissue itself, makingthese weaker than usual or at least more tender and sensitive toirritation and physical insult.

Following radiation therapy of the breast, patient care recommendationstypically include cleanliness and preservation measures, such as keepingthe skin clean and dry using warm water and neutral soap; avoidingextremes, such as high and low temperatures while bathing, trauma to theskin, sun exposure, shaving the treatment area with a sharp razor,perfumes, cosmetics, deodorants and so forth. Only prescribed orrecommended creams and balms are allowed for daily maintenance.

Some patients develop a sunburn-like reaction with blistering andpeeling of the skin. “Moist desquamation” can occur in the fold underthe breast or in the fold between the breast and the arm, or in any areawhen the most radiation is given. A limited amount of moist desquamationmay allow a person to continue treatment without interruption. When thedegree is such that treatment must be interrupted, the skin usuallyheals enough within a week to allow radiation to be resumed. Skin sideeffects usually heal completely within a few weeks of completingradiation therapy. However, some skin reactions may take months to heal.Rarely, the skin is compromised (e.g., thinned or dried out)permanently.

There are also issues of slight swelling of the breast during radiationtherapy. This can cause notable tenderness and other problems, butusually goes away within 6-12 months. The skin may darken during thecourse of radiation, similar to tanning from ultraviolet light, but inmost cases this also fades gradually over 6-12 months. Most peoplereceiving radiation suffer periodic aches and pains in the treatedbreast or the muscles surrounding the breast, even years after treatmenthas ended. The specific cause is unknown, but these pains are generallyharmless. Very rarely, patients develop a more serious breakdown of theskin, fractures of the breastbone, or such severe pain in the breastthat surgery is needed for treatment.

Radiation therapy given to the axillary lymph nodes can increase therisk of patients developing upper arm swelling from fluid retention(“lymphedema”) following axillary dissection. Radiation to this area cancause pain and loss of strength in the hand and arm for years aftertreatment as well as numbness and tingling.

For sore skin in the breast area following radiation therapy, comfortpadding measures tend to be homemade. Commercially available means tocomfort and pad these delicate tissues during and after radiationtherapy are needed.

SUMMARY

A breast crease comforter decreases pain and promotes healing during andafter radiation therapy to the breast. The skin crease between thebreast and the torso is typically exposed to daily friction, sheer, andmoisture. When the breast is also compromised by radiation therapy,these various insults may combine to cause skin breakdown andexcoriation, including resultant pain. The breast crease comforterintervenes between the underside of the breast and the torso to protectand pad this sensitive crease area when compromised by radiationtherapy. The breast crease comforter may also be used to treat otherconditions besides vulnerable skin resulting from radiation therapy tothe breast or torso. The breast crease comforter may also be combinedwith the bottom of a conventional bra.

This summary section is not intended to give a full description of thebreast crease comforter, or to provide a list of features and elements.A detailed description of example embodiments of the breast creasecomforter follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is diagram of an example breast crease comforter for treatingskin conditions caused by radiation therapy.

FIG. 2 is diagram of an example breast crease comforter and attachments.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example seam technique for presenting a softsurface of the breast crease comforter to the skin.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example method for constructing a breastcrease comforter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Overview

As shown in FIG. 1, this disclosure describes a breast crease comforter100 to decrease discomfort and promote healing during and afterradiation therapy to the breast. Whereas a bra is designed to supportthe breasts through lift or containment, the breast crease comforter(hereinafter, “comforter” 100) intervenes between the underside of thebreast and the torso to protect and pad this sensitive crease area whencompromised by radiation therapy.

The skin crease between the breast and the torso is typically exposed todaily friction, sheer, and moisture. When the breast is also compromisedby radiation therapy, these various insults may combine to cause skinbreakdown and excoriation, including resultant pain. During radiationtherapy, a bra typically presents a relatively irritating supportstructure to the sensitive crease area, just when the crease area needssoft padding and isolation from abrasion. The breast crease comforter100 does not surround, lift, and support the breasts to a raised orcontained position, rather the breast crease comforter 100 pads thecrease where the underside of the breast meets the torso.

The breast crease comforter 100 may be used to treat other conditionsbesides vulnerable skin resulting from radiation therapy to the breastor torso. The breast crease comforter may also be combined with aconventional bra.

Construction

In one implementation, the breast crease comforter 100 is a band of softmaterial that fastens around the torso, with the top edge of thecomforter under the bottom crease of the breast, i.e., at the creasewhere the underside of the breast meets the torso. The comforter 100 maybe held in place by frictional forces between the comforter 100 and theskin and in some cases by the weight of the breasts on the comforter100.

In another implementation, one side—the front—of the comforter 100 issoft, to pad the underside of the breast, while the other side of thecomforter 100 has at least a slight tendency to adhere to skin, to holdthe breast crease comforter 100 in place. In yet another implementation,the top half, including the top edge, of the breast crease comforter 100is constructed with very soft material to comfort the breast crease, theskin on the underside of the breast, and the skin on the front of thetorso, while the bottom half of the comforter is constructed of materialselected to at least partially adhere to the skin to hold the comforter100 in place.

Other means for holding the breast crease comforter 100 in place can beadded depending on the dimensions of a particular comforter 100 and thedimensions and needs of the wearer. In one implementation, the back ofthe comforter 100 has rubber-like elements to assist holding thecomforter 100 in place by adding friction between the comforter 100 andthe skin. In another implementation, the breast crease comforter 100 hasexternal adhesive tabs. A stretch material may be used to help keep thecomforter 100 in place, but using a stretch material may defeat thepurpose of providing soft, nonrestrictive padding and comfort.

In one implementation the breast crease comforter 100 consists of a softfabric tube, and a flat stiffener inside the length of the soft fabrictube to form the soft fabric tube into a band 200. The soft fabric maybe flannel, velvet, silk, etc., or combinations of materials to create asoft fabric. The soft fabric tube may be constructed of a single sheetof fabric or material folded over on itself, and the lengthwise edgesfastened together (e.g., sewn). The two opposite edges may be joinedwith an inside seam 302 to maintain presentation of a soft surface tothe user's skin.

The stiffener may be any flexible material, such as thick elastic,rubber, or another fabric or material that provides body and flatness tothe comforter 100. A connector 202 (& 202′), such as a VELCRO connector,or other attachment means, such as snaps, clasps, buttons, zipper, etc.,may be placed on each end of the soft fabric tube for adjustablyconnecting the ends of the soft fabric tube together, so that the band200 forms a sized “ring” around a user's torso. The width of the flatstiffener can be adjusted to match an underside dimension of a user'sbreast.

The soft fabric tube may consist of a first type of fabric or materialthat makes up the torso side of the band 200 and a second type of fabricthat makes up the breast side of the band 200. The fabrics can beselected so that the first fabric against the torso has a highercoefficient of friction than the second fabric that is to be placedagainst the breast. This second fabric is usually selected to be verysoft. Thus, the first fabric or material may have adherent properties,to help keep the comforter 100 in place. For example, the first materialmay be composed of or include adherent areas that gently and reversiblyadhere to the skin. Such adherent patches may have a rubber, silicone,or other adherent surface, or may be composed of moleskin, gore-tex, adermal cover, a skin substitute material, such as SECOND SKIN (SpencoMedical Corporation, Waco, Tex.), etc., so that the band 200 “sticks” tothe user's torso to some degree, while the other side of the band 200remains soft. In one implementation the adherent parts of the comforter100 are small patches that contact the user's back and/or sides, whileleaving soft fabric on both sides of the band 200 where the band 200contacts the underside of the breast, the crease, and the torso, allthree of which may be sore or sensitive.

In one implementation, the ends of the comforter 100 allow access to theinside of the comforter when the comforter 100 is not in use: i.e., whenthe two ends of the band 200 are not attached to each other. The usercan then place various accessories inside the comforter 100 to adjustthe function and the dimensions of the comforter 100. In anotherimplementation, the inside of the comforter 100 is accessible along itslength, e.g., through a zipper or other separator.

In one implementation, the user can select a stiffener from a spectrumof stiffeners to adjust the width of the comforter 100 to suit thedimensions of the user's breasts. The user may also select the stiffnessof the stiffener in this manner. The user may also insert pads ofvarious thicknesses to adjust the thickness or softness of the overallcomforter 100. The comforter 100 can accept other accessories that fitinside the soft fabric tube, such as a warming element that is eitherelectric or microwave warmable; a vapor emitting element; a vibratingelement; a cooling element; a drying element; etc. The inside space toaccept these accessories may be the main inside space of the soft fabrictube, or may be a separate pocket.

Example Method

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary method 400 of constructing a breast creasecomforter. In the flow diagram, the operations are summarized inindividual blocks.

At block 402, fabric is formed into a fabric tube. At least part of thefabric tube is soft material intended to pad and comfort breast tissuethat has been thinned, burned, or weakened by radiation therapy. Thus,the fabric tube can be made by taking a single piece of soft fabric,such as flannel, etc., and folding the piece over on itself. The twoedges are then sewn or otherwise joined to each other. When the edgesare sewn, an inside seam 302 may be used, so that soft fabric is alwayspresented to the user's skin. In other implementations, the method mayinclude fastening two types of fabric or material to each other to makethe comforter. One of the fabrics is soft to pad the breast crease,while the other fabric has adherent properties to prevent the comforterfrom slipping out of place on the user's body. Alternatively, the methodmay include attaching adherent areas, e.g., patches, to the comforter toreversibly adhere to the skin in order to help keep the comforter inplace on the body.

At block 404, a stiffener is placed in the fabric tube to flatten andstiffen the fabric tube. Placing the stiffener may include obtaining awidth dimension corresponding to the underside of a breast, so that thecomforter will be wide enough to pad the entire underside of the breast,if desired.

At block 406, a connector 202 is attached to each end of the fabric tubefor connecting the ends to each other. The connectors may be VELCRO, asnap, a clasp, a button, a zipper, etc. When the connectors allow sizeadjustment of the comforter, then the comforter may be used with usersof various sizes.

The comforter may also allow access to its interior, to customize thestiffness, width, thickness, and amount of padding provided. The innerspace to be accessed may also be a pocket that is separate from the maininterior of the comforter. The interior space can allow the user to varystiffeners, width adjusters, thickness adjusters, or pads; and enablethe user to place a warming element, a cooling element, a vibratingelement, a vapor emitting element, a drying element, and so forth.

CONCLUSION

Although exemplary systems have been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the following claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather,the specific features and acts are disclosed as exemplary forms ofimplementing the claimed systems, methods, and structures.

1. A breast crease comforter, comprising: a torso band; a first surfaceon a first side of the torso band suitable for padding a breast creaseafter radiation therapy; and a second surface on a second side of thetorso band suitable for engaging a torso of a user and stabilizing thetorso band on the torso.
 2. The breast crease comforter of claim 1,wherein the torso band comprises a cupless pad to intervene between thetorso and an inferior aspect of a user's breast after radiation therapy.3. The breast crease comforter of claim 1, wherein the torso band isstretchable to assist the second surface in engaging the torso.
 4. Thebreast crease comforter of claim 1, wherein the second surface includesan adherent to assist the second surface in engaging the torso.
 5. Thebreast crease comforter of claim 1, further comprising at least oneshoulder strap to support the torso band on the torso.
 6. The breastcrease comforter of claim 1, wherein a width of the torso band can bevaried to suit a breast crease of the user.
 7. The breast creasecomforter of claim 1, wherein a depth of the torso band can be selectedto vary the padding.
 8. The breast crease comforter of claim 1, whereina size of the torso band is adjustable to hold an edge of the torso bandin contact with a breast crease of the user.